Legal Article - Health & Safety

Review Risk Assessments

Employers must make sure their risk assessment stays up to date. Few workplaces stay the same. Sooner or later employers will bring in new equipment, or new substances or introduce new processes and procedures that could lead to new hazards. It makes good sense therefore to review what is being done as part of an ongoing basis. Employers should look at their risk assessment on a regular basis (regular is not specified in law; but every 12 months is usually seen as being appropriate) and during this review process they should ask:

· Have there been any significant changes since the last assessment?

· Are there planned improvements that still need to be made?

· Have any employees reported a problem since the last risk assessment?

· Has the business learnt anything from past accidents or near misses that have occurred?

In summary there are
5 essential steps to conducting a successful risk assessment for those operating in motor vehicle repair. These are laid out by the HSE and cover the following areas:

1. Identifying the hazards inherent in your workplace;

2. Finding out which workers are at risk of harm, and identifying how this might occur;

3. Assessing the risks and thinking about the best precautions you (and they) can take to minimise the degree of risk present in each situation;

4. Making good use of the results of the risk assessment every day to ensure people are kept as safe as is practicably possible;

5. Ensure there are regular checks so you can see the measures taken are still working; also you must review the risk assessment on a regular basis.